French Minister of Defense Confirms Launch of ANL FASGW(H) anti-ship missile program

French Minister of Defense Confirms Launch of ANL FASGW(H) anti-ship missile program

Posted On
Wednesday, 27 November 2013 19:09

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Naval
Defense Industry News - France, UK

French
Minister of Defense Confirms Launch of ANL FASGW(H) anti-ship missile
program

French Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian today announced the launch
of several new defense programs at the Assemblée Nationale (French
Parliament). One of these programs is the ANL (Anti Navire Léger
/ Light Anti-ship) anti-ship missile made by MBDA. This program is also
known as FASGW(H) (Future Anti-Ship Guided Weapon Heavy) in the UK.

With the French green light, the FASG(H) / ANL joint weapon procurement
program will finally move forward. A decision long awaited by the Royal
Navy who has an urgent need to replace their existing Sea Skua missiles.

The
original aim was to withdraw the old Sea Skua along with the current
Lynx helicopters, while rolling into service the new Wildcat helicopter
in 2015 with FASGW(H) already available and integrated. The 2015 date
now looks unlikely for an In Service Date. The latest NAO Major Projects
(UK National Audit Office) report put the ISD for FASGW(H) as far away
as January 2018.

FASG(H) / ANL is set to be intergrated on AW159 Lynx Wildcat for the
Royal Navy and NH90 and Panther helicopters for the French Navy.

According to manufacturer MBDA, the new weapon is a significant advance
on both Sea Skua and AS15TT:
• Long Stand-Off Range providing helicopter protection from air
defence systems
• The ability to select the precise target aim point
• The new seeker option will allow target information to be relayed
via a two-way data
link to the operator.

This target data will enable the operator to make changes to
the missile guidance during free flight
• Precision targeting both by night and day, using legacy onboard
sensors
• A lighter weight weapon will increase the number of platforms
on which FASGW-ANL
can be integrated

The new design will maintain some of the earlier characteristics of
Sea Skua and AS15TT allowing current users to easily upgrade. By retaining
compatibility with existing logisticfootprints this will result in the
following benefits;
• Minor modification to existing ship storage and handling equipment
• Retaining high helicopter load-out
• Minimal impact on logistics and through life costs
• Low integration costs as existing onboard magazine arrangements
can be utilised